- Iran war paralyzes oil trade as US military plane crashes in Iraq
Source: CBS News
“An American aerial refueling tanker that was involved in the U.S. military operation in Iran crashed in western Iraq. The status of the plane’s crew is unknown. Iranian state media released the first public statement attributed to new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country continued attacking U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf and ships in the region. … Iran’s relentless assaults have fueled an apparent lack of investor confidence, with oil prices topping $100 a barrel and stock prices sliding despite President Trump’s repeated assertions that he’ll end the war soon and announcements of major oil reserve releases.” (03/13/26)
- Trump removes Putin oil sanctions ahead of Zelensky’s talks with Macron
Source: Independent [UK]
“Donald Trump has issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the Iran war. Earlier on Wednesday, Washington announced it would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb skyrocketing oil prices. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency (IEA) to release 400 million barrels of oil. Meanwhile, Ukraine struck a vital Russian oil hub on Thursday, causing a large fire and damaging Moscow’s logistics in the latest attack on energy infrastructure, according to a source in Ukraine’s security service.” [editor’s note: As if it was ever any of the US regime’s business where other countries get their oil from – TLK] (03/13/26)
- Bitcoin above $71,000, ETH, SOL, ADA zoom higher as cryptos shrugs off stock weakness
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin is holding near $71,000 and trading at the upper end of a monthlong consolidation range, even as global stock markets wobble and oil prices climb. The broader crypto market, with a capitalization around $2.4 trillion, has remained in a tight band since late January, with major tokens like Ether, Solana, XRP and BNB posting modest gains. Analysts say Bitcoin’s resilience reflects a stabilization phase that may require new capital for a sustained rally, as institutions increasingly explore Bitcoin-native financial infrastructure and so-called Bitcoin DeFi.” (03/13/26)
- Democrats block bill to reopen heimatschutz amid 27-day (partial) shutdown
Source: The Hill
“Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a motion to proceed to a House-passed bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and end the 27-day shutdown that has hampered the functions of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other critical agencies. The motion failed by a vote of 51 to 46. Centrist Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans to advance the funding bill. It needed 60 votes to advance. It marked the fourth time since Feb. 12 that Democrats have voted to block Homeland Security funding legislation.” (03/12/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5781155-democrats-blocks-homeland-security-funding-bill/
- Epstein’s longtime accountant gives secret/hidden testimony to congressional committee
Source: NBC News
“Richard Kahn, who was Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant, testified for roughly six hours on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into Epstein. Committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., said Kahn named five people who paid Epstein, ‘and that was Les Wexner, Glenn Dubin, Steven Sinofsky, the Rothschilds and Leon Black.’ Comer noted that the committee previously questioned Wexner and that Black will be deposed ‘very soon.’ No one named by Kahn has been accused by the authorities of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.” [editor’ note: Why was this hearing held in secret? – TLK] (03/12/26)
- MI: Suspect in Detroit-area synagogue attack is killed by security, sheriff says
Source: CBS News
“A suspect in an attack on a synagogue in the Detroit area is dead after ramming a vehicle into the building and being confronted by synagogue security, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says law enforcement responded to an ‘active shooter situation’ at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Thursday afternoon. Bouchard said about 1:35 p.m. Thursday that shots were fired in the area and that area residents within a mile of the location have been asked to shelter in place. … There were no confirmed injuries ‘except potentially the shooter,’ the sheriff said.” (03/12/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/police-respond-active-shooter-situation-at-temple-israel/
- Automatic Draft Registration: Everything Old is New Again
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“You may have only recently heard: As of this coming December, all American males will find themselves ‘automatically registered,’ upon the occasion of their 18th birthdays, for a prospective military draft. Given current events, that prospect understandably gives off sinister vibes — ‘but without a draft, who would do the necessary work of murdering Iranian elementary school students and Venezuelan fisherme … er, ‘narco-terrorists?” — so you might be surprised to learn that it’s old news. On December 30, 2024, then US president Joe Biden (or maybe his autopen?) signed the National Defense [sic] Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, which included the relevant provision. Reaction from the general public: Yawn … hey, the Chargers clinched a wild card playoff berth! OMG, Jimmy Carter died! NDAA? Whazzat? War has a way of retroactively refocusing the mind, doesn’t it? In reality, ‘automatic registration’ is even older news, though.” (03/12/26)
- Selling Another War: Who Gets to Speak for Iran?
Source: Antiwar.com
by David S D’Amato“In coverage of the war against Iran, a familiar choreography is playing out again, one that the media have carefully refined to exploit the perceived credibility of diaspora groups in order to push war and empire. This phenomenon of selectively and specifically amplifying diaspora voices who will cheerlead for war is now a well-documented feature of the American media ecosystem. For months in the lead up to this new illegal and unconstitutional war, high-profile American ‘news’ outlets featured almost exclusively Iranians and Iranian-Americans who argued for regime change through ground invasion, a position arguably even more extreme and reckless than that of Donald Trump. Major outlets host sympathetic figures with very good reasons to hate the target country and unassailable arguments that its rulers are authoritarian criminals.” (03/12/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_damato/2026/03/11/selling-another-war-who-gets-to-speak-for-iran
- The Madness of King Trump
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“President Donald Trump has lawlessly launched a full-scale war against a distant nation that neither attacked nor threatened America. Instead, Iran was negotiating with the United States, offering substantial concessions. The president justified his aggression with rhetoric similar to that of Russia’s Vladimir Putin in launching Moscow’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine. … He is acting more as Roman emperor than American president, wandering the globe conquering foreign lands and looting subject peoples for personal as well as national gain. He has become the sort of reckless despot feared by the nation’s founders. This tragic perversion of the American experiment demonstrates the terrible truth of Lord Acton’s famous axiom: ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.'” (03/12/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-madness-of-king-trump/
- Washington Post’s Crazy Iran War Conspiracy Theory
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard“Long before Trump partnered with Israel to attack Tehran, Democrats, libertarians, and even decent Americans warned that Trump would bomb Iran again to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein pedophile scandal. Most American voters believe that ‘Trump launched the war on Iran at least in part to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal,’ according to a new poll by DropSite News. Fifty-two percent of voters agreed with that statement, while 40% disagreed. But according to the Washington Post, anyone who still complains about the Epstein scandal is propelling Iranian propaganda.” (03/12/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/03/12/washington-posts-crazy-iran-war-conspiracy-theory/
- At a Hinge Moment in History, We Must Build a Liberal Future
Source: Liberalism.org
by Emily Chamlee-Wright“I am fascinated by hinge moments in history. I like to cast my imagination into the minds of key players at a point when they know the stakes are high, but the outcome is radically uncertain. In hinge moments, courageous defenders of a cause have no idea how it will all turn out, or how their efforts will be remembered by later generations. … Hinge moments are those when the stakes are high, the future is radically undetermined, and capable but flawed human beings have to act decisively—even when the better world we’re aiming to achieve doesn’t give up its instructions easily. We are living through such a moment now.” (03/12/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/at-a-hinge-moment-in-history-we-must-build-a-liberal-future
- Britain scores a win for equality
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Britain’s parliamentary democracy, one of the oldest in the world, has its quirks. For more than 1,000 years, its kings and queens have presided atop a pyramid of lords, earls, viscounts, and other layers of nobility. Alongside elected members of the House of Commons, these titled (and often wealthy) peers have held hundreds of hereditary seats in Parliament’s upper House of Lords for centuries. ‘Undemocratic, overcrowded, dominated by silly archaic practices and unrepresentative of the British population,’ is how one reform-minded member has described the chamber. But all that is about to change: On Tuesday, Parliament adopted a bill abolishing the remaining quota of 92 seats that can be automatically filled by the heirs of titled peers. The act fulfills one of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s election pledges, completing a process started by his predecessor Tony Blair, who removed more than 600 seats in 1999.” (03/11/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0311/Britain-scores-a-win-for-equality
- The Fifth Column, episode 548
Source: The Fifth Column
“Gov. Chris Christie Tells on Everyone.” (03/12/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/gov-chris-christie-tells-on-everyone
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 571
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, Lori, and Riley start discussing the ‘war’ in Iran, then devolve into the failures of capitalism and the benefits of self-hosting pirated content.” (03/12/26)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/the-anarchist-experience-571/
- The Libertarian Angle, 03/12/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“U.S. Interventions in World War I and World War II.” (03/12/26)